I HOPE I’M JUST STUPID

Terry Murray is a man with a vision. Visions of the future. Of better, happier times, when we all share in the love that issues forth from the top on down, blurring lines between the haves and the have-nots. Gandhi would be proud.

Unfortunately, these visions may be hallucinations.

Because either I’m stupid, or after a single game of powerplay success Topsy Terry is already looking forward to breaking up Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty‘s dynamic powerplay unit.

Speaking to Rich Hammond about the two beautiful powerplay goals scored by Doughty that buoyed the Los Angeles Kings to a win against the Edmonton Oiler’s in a game in which they were outshot and mostly outplayed, Murray had this to say yesterday:

“Well, we had to change something up. That was important, to get a different look. Sometimes a change is a good thing, and that’s basically where that came from. We started talking about it a couple days before. You just need to look back at the fun they had together in the playoffs last year in Vancouver. It was a good look. They jumped right on it last night, and we started to get a shot mentality. Smytty was excellent at the net, and you get a good result out of those kinds of attitudes, so we’ll keep building on it.

“You always want to try to have two good groups. So, as a result of that, you’re going to spread it out a bit, and hopefully you come out for the second part of that power play with the same kind of intensity and some good result. But when things dry up, you have to put your best players together. Same thing on 5-on-5. You’ve got to trust that those guys are going to get you through a very difficult time. You’ve got to put the best six players you can on your top two lines, your best defensemen together, and play them a lot. They’re going to get you through. Now you can get back to what your philosophy might be, to spread it out a little so everybody can contribute. But I liked what happened last night. Obviously it was a turning point in the game, when we were able to come right back with a couple power-play goals.”

First of all, the dude only mentions Smyth by name. No specific mention of Doughty or Johnson and how dynamite they were. Sure, he says “your best defensemen together, and play them a lot.” But this is just being picky and we aren’t here to pick nits. We are here to gawk and flabbergast, which is easy considering what Murray says immediately after saying “You’ve got to put the best six players you can on your top two lines, your best defensemen together, and play them a lot.”

“Now you can get back to what your philosophy might be, to spread it out a little so everybody can contribute.”

Fuck me.

Murray is already planning to break up Jack and Drew. Once again, I hope I’m just stupid. If I’m not and I am reading this correctly, then Murray essential thinks (with none of my typical embellishment… because there is nothing fun about this thought), that:

The powerplay wasn’t working.

Therefore, put your best guys out there as much as possible to get the powerplay going.

Once you get the powerplay going, break up your best players to spread it out.

I didn’t know Murray was such a free love hippy.

Spread it out. No, don’t spread anything. By spreading out the powerplay units you are only spreading your legs like a common woman from Orange County, prone for wreckage courtesy of the other team, who is more than happy to oblige.

Lets go over this logic one more time. Powerplay with best players in two groups = suck. Powerplay with best players in one group = awesome. If powerplay with best players in one group is awesome, then the powerplay with best players in two groups is preferred.

I’m at a loss. Not of curses, I have plenty of those.

So how long will we continue to see Jack and Drew share powerplay ice? This amount of time is inverse to how well they keep clicking. Apparently the better they do, the sooner Jarret Stoll is taking the one-timers from Doughty.

4 replies

Sounds like a car with a bad battery. One jump and your good…until the next morning.

It’s hard to watch a team deconstruct, more so as a long suffering fan. But Smyth is down to a single aspect of his game (PP), age no doubt. And no help from the FA market (this late in a season it would make no difference … We’re no augmenting, we’re looking for a savior).